Coach Colin Bell revealed his plan for a preliminary match ahead of the New Zealand match. photo Korea Football Association
“The game against New Zealand is important.” Coach Colin Bell of the women’s soccer team explained his resolve and plans in fluent Korean ahead of the evaluation game against New Zealand.
Director Bell said hello in Korean at a remote press conference on the 26th. Everyone,” he said. “The players are training hard every day. The training is intense. New Zealand is important. “I’m confident we’ll have a good game,” he said.
The women’s national team will play the first leg of the evaluation match against New Zealand at 2 pm on the 27th at the Goyang Sports Complex. The second game will be held on the 30th at 7 pm at the same place. This is the last test for the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup to be held in India in January next year.
Our national team surpassed 3rd place in Thailand in 2003 and challenged for the first championship, which is the best ever. The minimal goal is to finish in the top five and win a ticket to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. To this end, the three Europeans So-yeon Ji (Chelsea), So-hyeon Cho (Tottenham), and Geum-min Lee (Brighton) all convened for this evaluation match.
Bell said, “I want to show an aggressive style of football against New Zealand. It’s a match for the Asian Cup finals to be held in January next year. Through this training and match, I want the players to reach their peak in all aspects in January. Prepare as best as possible. So it’s going to be an interesting game.” He used Korean to emphasize the point of “forward pass, active, smart”.
This evaluation is open to the public. You just need to present that you received a negative result from a gene amplification (PCR) test that was performed two weeks after the corona 19 vaccination or within 48 hours of the game date. “I want to show a good game to the fans who have supported me since I took office,” said Bell.
New Zealand ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, lower than Korea (18th). Also, Korea has a great lead in 11 matches with 5 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss. The most recent match was a four-nation friendly held in Australia in March 2019. At that time, Korea won 2-0 with goals from Ji So-yeon and Moon Mira. Bell said, “There are many experienced players. New Zealand has been building the team from a long-term perspective with a new manager. It will be a fun game for us as well.”
Bell plans to select the elite members who will compete in the Asian Cup through two matches. He said, “We will utilize as many players as possible. Compared to the last trip to the United States, the players are in good physical condition. It is a good test opportunity to confirm the final roster for the Asian Cup.”
By Kim Hyo-kyung, staff reporter kaypubb@joongang.co.kr
